Anza Borrego Desert Trip

A Photo Essay 2/18/2013

By Jim Bremner

We visited Anza Borrego on President's Day to see how things are shaping up for this year's wildflower season. It's still early, but it turned out to be a fun trip and a beautiful day, with temperatures in the mid 70s. We got to try out some new cameras and equipment. We have a Canon 6D with a GPS chip which logs our picture locations and tracked our route while we explored the northern part of the park.

GPS log of trip

We entered the park on Rt 78, and our first stop was Plum Canyon. Here are a few pictures from the canyon. It was very dry and there were only just a few plants turning green.

Chuparosa


Just a little green in Plum Canyon

Our next stop was the Elephant Tree area off of Split Mountain Road. We found the most wildflowers here.

Road Marker for the trail

The road is rocky in spots, high clearance is needed.

Note the spider exploring the flower - Blue Phacelia

Brown-Eyed Evening Primrose

Desert Lavender

We drove through Ocotillo Wells and on over to Henderson Canyon Road. From there we continued on to Coyote Canyon.

Lots of bike riders enjoying the day.

Just starting to see the green at the entrance to Coyote Canyon

The ocotillos near the Cactus Garden are turning green and some have blooms.

We even saw some coyotes in Coyote Canyon, no pictures though as they ran when they saw us. Not a lot of wildflowers yet, but we may get more rain this week from the storm that's on its way to southern California.

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